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Survivor Tom Interview

The Heroes tribe lost yet one more challenge, and we all saw Tom Westman’s luck run out as he was voted off during the last episode of Survivor.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 46 year old former Suvivor Palau winner talks about being voted off before his injured Heroes tribe member James, what he would have done differently and also shares his thoughts on his other castmates. Tom had some rather choice words for his tribe member Rupert.

Excerpts from Tom’s interview is below -

How does it feel to be deemed less valuable than a dude who can’t walk?
You know what? I think if James had gotten his head cut off in that challenge they would have brought his head along in a bowling bag and had him vote against me. And that was frustrating actually having to defend myself that I was more of a physical value to the team than the guy who had been sent back into the game wearing a brace.

Did you think J.T. was with you on the vote, or were you skeptical?
It didn’t take us long to realize that J.T. was like, “which way is the wind blowing today?” I knew I had to get Rupert over, too, and I tried to appeal to him flat-out, “Is this really okay with you? Do you realize how you’re going to be portrayed? You’re just getting walked around this game by Amanda Kimmel! Is that okay with you?” And I needed him to make the move, which I think would have redeemed him in a lot of people’s eyes. You know, America loved that guy, and I think he let himself down big this time.

You and Colby were both worried before the game began about being outsiders with all these younger, newer players. Is this what got you in the end?
It is. I didn’t even think it would be as bad as it was. The fact that some of these people had played three times, and knew each other and were friends outside of the game — I think this was all preordained before we ever boarded those helicopters in Samoa. That being said, I like a good fight and it was still kind of fun to try to pick that thing apart. I think I did everything I could, but at the end of the day it was also coming to Candice and Cirie too late. If I could play this game again, instead of Cirie and I coming in with our gloves on and hitting at each other from opposite corners of the ring, we really should have just jumped into each other’s arms and said, “Okay, let’s see how far we can take this.” I should have indentified that, but knowing that Cirie had been in Micronesia and played with Amanda and these people I just lumped her in with that crowd, and she couldn’t convince me that she wasn’t part of a previous alliance. And now I believe that she wasn’t. Too many people warning me about her and too many people warning her about me, and it hurt both of us.

Rupert could have been seen as a natural alliance-mate for you and Colby in that he was also from an older season, and not as tied in with the newer, younger crowd, but it didn’t turn out that way, did it?
And we were both kind of shocked with that. I think part of Rupert’s thing is he immediately targeted Stephenie. He immediately wanted her gone with such a passion, for no apparent reason that we could see. And the only thing I believe is that Rupert wants to be the most popular person on the season and who has had that kind of popularity except Stephenie LaGrossa? I really believe that it was a selfish, get rid of anybody that might get more camera time than me situation, and that was Rupert’s motive in the beginning.